Getting ready for travel next week....

Getting into the Holiday Spirit by spending time with good friends sharing good food and lot's of laughter.  This will continue into this upcoming weekend.  This is also my week to shop for the few gifts that I am purchasing.  I always adopt a needy family so I'll get that under the tree.  Writing a few cards to folks I don't talk to often or see often.  It feels like a good time to send a note of thoughts and good wishes.  My family has decided not to exchange gifts among us adults.....but we are buying for our grandkids, neices and nephews.  This is fun as well.  It took away so much of the "I should" pressure and left space for spoiling the kids who really appreciate it!!!! 

Because I am so busy I am not doing a BlogShow this week.  I think I'll put it off until after the holidays.  First show will be January 10th, Tuesday at 2PM ET.  I'm planning a great line-up for 2012 including: How to Blend the Perfect Cup of Tea, Insights into Menopause from health expert Sherri Goddard, Herbs for Menopause, The 10 Herbs everyone should have at home, and much much more!!!  If you can't listen for the actual broadcast, you can always find a link at my website or click   http://bit.ly/Il6dN   to see what might be of interest.

Product specials:  For phone orders placed between now and the end of the year, no shipping and 20% off any bundle.  Call 877.253.7853 to place your order today.

Plant of the week:  Comfrey.  It is one of my ESSENTIAL plants and I use it often!!!

Comfrey (Symphytum officinalis) has many folk names that tell the tale of this plant: knitbone is the most common.  There is a "legend" that this plant which can have leaves that are the size of your forearm, was wrapped on the broken bones of soilders during the Civil War to heal the break.  It can be abundant in the woods so was likely readily available.  It is a demulcent (soothing) as well as an expectorant (expels mucous) plant, both leaf and root.  It can be used to sooth an irritated intestine or colon, as well as irritated tummy.  When lungs are full of mucous and tired from the act of coughing, there is no superior remedy then a mix of comfrey leaf and root.  I use this plant for burns, irritations and bug bites.  You find it in many of my products; like VitalVulva Wild Yam Salve, Ouch Ointment and CalendulaBlossom Cream.  Click http://bit.ly/arEbAS to see more about these products.

My own personal experience with comfrey is on a very profound burn I experienced some years ago.  Hot boiling oil complete with beeswax exploded onto my arm.  I had my comfrey plant nearby and immediately crushed leaves and began to apply to this burn.  Over time, the only sign of this burn is the lack of pigment on my arm.  Otherwise, the skin looks just like the rest of my arm....which is not common for bad burns.  Usually the skin appears crinkled.  Amazing what the plant kingdom can do for us, for less cost and less trauma to our bodies!!!

I hope you have a wonderful week.  I look forward to checking in with you next Monday.

Cynthia Johnston

MoonMaid Botanicals

877.253.7853

Getting on a schedule....

I am currently working in a coaching program about Branded Content and developing a strategy to create success with this marketing technique, and tool I suppose.  My Monday Blog will focus on what is up at MoonMaid this week;  our specials, the subject of my weekly BlogTalk Radio show and my Herb of the Week.

Specials...........20% off all "bundles" and free shipping on those orders.  Place these orders by phone @ 877.253.7853

Weekly Blog Show:  Cynthia will discuss MoonMaid Botanical products that may be effective for "women of a certain age" that are experiencing hormone issues:  Listen here:
http://bit.ly/tkPVVR

Herb of the Week:  Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa)    This amazing plant with it's ribbed heart shaped leaves grows abundantly at ShadyAcres Plant Sanctuary, MoonMaid Botanicals' forest garden.  I often find it whorled around a rather elusive forest plant Ginseng.  Though the above ground leaves of Wild Yam are abundant, the plant has very small finger sized roots.  It is easy to see how this plant has become dangerously overharvested as it is the main plant source of diosgenin which is  a potent saponin taken from this root and converted into Progesterone for natural products or into "Progestins" for pharmaceutical products.   Synthetic progestins that are in prescriptions like PremPro, are often called "progesterone" by physicians but Beware!!!!  There is a huge difference in these prescription drugs and natural bio-identical products with true progesterone.  Additionally we have truely "herbal" products like the ones described below.

MoonMaid's core products; ProMeno Wild Yam Cream, ProAndro Men's Wild Yam Cream and VitalVulva Wild Yam salve are a slightly different products then those mentioned above in that we do an "herbal infusion" process of the plant into organic olive oil.   Akin to making a cup of tea with a herb and water,  jar of herb and oil is warmed at a low temperature the theory being that the properties of the herb are taken into the oil.  Our products are applied topically and geared to help women and men who are experiencing hormones swings due to menopause, andropause, PMS, and a variety of other symptoms that seem somehow directly related to the toxic estrogens in our environment.    Though these products do not contain any actual hormones they seem to help the body address hormone balance in a natural way.  Hormone free products are increasingly being sought out by women and men who have any sort of cancer issues. 

We definitely think hormone and adrenal balance are critical to a healthy life.........and we Believe that herbs can be a big help.  Hear more about this subject on my blog talk show on Tuesday @ 2 where I will discuss the effective way to use MoonMaid products for hormone issues........and why it is so predominant in society today.  Listen here: 
http://bit.ly/tkPVVR
Until next week.......may you delight in all of the weeds that grow around you!!!
Cynthia @ MoonMaid Botanicals
www.moonmaidbotanicals.com
moonmaidbotanicals@yahoo.com
877.253.7853